by Larry Eder
This is the second week of RunBlogRun’s Summer Mileage Program, day 4, and our focus is Rai Benjamin.
Rai Benjamin is the Olympic gold medalist in the 400 meter hurdles in Paris Olympics in 2024. In 2021, Rai had taken the silver medal, after a supreme effort to defeat Karsten Warholm, who broke 46 seconds for the gold, setting a world record.
Rai Benjamin had to work on his focus, and his approach to the 400m hurdles. While the battles with Karsten Warholm were difficult, Rai had a bit of a block in defeating the world record holding Norwegian.
Rai Benjamin battled Karsten Warholm in September 2023, at the Diamond League Finals at the NIKE Pre Classic. Over hurdles nine and ten, Rai Benjamin cemented his victory over Warholm. In August 2024, Rai Benjamin ran his race and defeated Karston in the Olympic final.
The 400m hurdles is one of the toughest races on the track. Add the exhaustion of an all out 400 meters, put in ten hurdles and good luck! Rai, Karsten and Alison Dos Santos are the three stars of this event. One miss, and someone is infront of you! Rai Benjamin was beat by Karsten Warholm over 300m hurdles in Oslo, Norway in June. Less than a week later, Rai Benjamin defeated Karsten Warholm and Alison Dos Santos in Stockholm. At the recent Pre Classic, Alison dos Santos, the 2022 Eugene World Champ, defeated Rai Benjamin in a close one.
I like the 400m hurdles and the Rai Benjamin story to inspire runners.
The road to 2025 Cross country is just beginning
Time to build some mileage for fall cross country!
Today is July 17, 2025
Week One, Day Four, Summer Mileage.
Thursday, Warm-up, 60 minutes of hill running, run hard up at least six hills, cool-down.
Some thoughts on summer mileage program.
Have you considered cross country?
Cross Country is offered in over 16,500 high schools and many junior high schools. It normally goes from mid-August to November for most. To prepare for cross country, we at RunBlogRun encourage you and your 550,000 closest friends who like the 400m to 5,000m, consider cross country!
It is a great way to stay in shape and it builds your fitness so that you are ready for the challenges of cross country.
What motivated Steve Prefontaine in the summer between his sophomore and junior year?
Was it the knowledge that he had not done his very best in track and field? Perhaps, he had not taken his commitment as serious as he thought he should?
When you have not achieved what you expected, how do you respond? Are you being called to put in some more effort? Many of us have had those challenges, and Summer mileage is a great program to get one self focused.
Think about five things you can do better for fall cross country, write them on a post card, and tape it to a place in your room where you will see it at least once a day!
Remember to drink 8 glasses of water, 12 ounces each a day!
When Pre was in high school, after he failed to make his State track meet as a sophomore, he became obsessed with daily training. These were not just easy runs, they were bone-churning, gut-wrenching efforts focused to make him unbeatable. In his junior year of cross country, Pre saw that his summer of running made a huge difference.
Do you want to be a better cross country runner than you were in the past? Focus and follow our training. It is all about the consistency.
Other book suggestions include Self Made Olympian by Ron Daws, A Clean Pair of Heels by Murray Halberg, and Pre! by Tom Jordan.
The Nike Pegasus PLUS is a great entry shoe for high school cross country. You should consider it, and learn more about it at nike.com. It is light, cushioned, a good summer mileage shoe. If you need a little more cushioning, try the Vomero 18. The Vomero 18 has more cushioning that the Pegasus PLUS. If you like NIKE, I would suggest high schoolers use the NIKE Pegasus PLUS for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I would suggest the Vomero 18 for Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I always suggest two pairs of training shoes. Why on Vomero 18? It is a cushioned shoe that feels great and is good on the roads and trails.
